1. < Diabetes & Endocrine System

Blood Sugar and A1C levels: Tips and Insight for Staying in Range

Posted by dlh @dlh, Apr 21, 2020

How can I get my sugar levels under 100? My fasting levels have ranged from 95 to 110. What am I doing wrong to get those numbers under 100?

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JK | @contentandwell | May 8, 2020
In reply to @dorisena "Yes, I would like the muffin recipe. I eat Medihool dates for my fiber but they..." + (show)
@dorisena

Yes, I would like the muffin recipe. I eat Medihool dates for my fiber but they are high sugar, so they would replace the sugar in the muffins, I think. I can eat dairy anytime but in the morning. I really love yogurt. Dorisena

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@dorisena. I didn’t think to list all of the typical ingredients. They do have a half cup of brown sugar in them, an egg, baking powder and baking soda. Is that amount of sugar a problem for you? I baked them in mini muffin pans. I like to do that so if I want one I can just have a little one. My husband eats four at a time.
JK

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1 reply
dorisena | @dorisena | May 9, 2020
In reply to @contentandwell "@dorisena. I didn’t think to list all of the typical ingredients. They do have a half..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@dorisena. I didn’t think to list all of the typical ingredients. They do have a half cup of brown sugar in them, an egg, baking powder and baking soda. Is that amount of sugar a problem for you? I baked them in mini muffin pans. I like to do that so if I want one I can just have a little one. My husband eats four at a time.
JK

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Yes, I'll try the recipe. I need variety in my eating, and sometimes working hard that day allows me extra items. Thanks, Dprosema

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1 reply
Mentor
Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | May 9, 2020
In reply to @contentandwell "@dorisena I can't have grapefruit, pomegranate, or Seville oranges due to incompatibility with my medications. I..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@dorisena I can't have grapefruit, pomegranate, or Seville oranges due to incompatibility with my medications. I think Seville oranges are actually a hybrid with grapefruit.
I also take levothyroxine and have to wait an hour after my immunosuppressants, which works for my levothyroxine too, before eating. I have read that although you can eat a half-hour after taking thyroid medicine that you should not drink coffee for an hour. I have no idea if that is true, I never thought to ask my endocrinologist.
I too rarely eat white bread, usually just when dining out if I have a roll. I made some really delicious muffins yesterday with oat bran, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, banana, dates, and shredded carrots. It does have a half cup of yogurt in it too, could you have that baked in something? I am lactose intolerant so I used lactose-free yogurt. I made the muffins for my husband and he loves them. He will not eat yogurt so I hid that from him. It's not a problem for him, just a personal aversion.
If those are things you can eat and you would like the recipe, let me know.
JK

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I would also like the muffin recipe, @contentandwell.

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JK | @contentandwell | May 9, 2020
In reply to @contentandwell "@dorisena I can't have grapefruit, pomegranate, or Seville oranges due to incompatibility with my medications. I..." + (show)
@contentandwell

@dorisena I can't have grapefruit, pomegranate, or Seville oranges due to incompatibility with my medications. I think Seville oranges are actually a hybrid with grapefruit.
I also take levothyroxine and have to wait an hour after my immunosuppressants, which works for my levothyroxine too, before eating. I have read that although you can eat a half-hour after taking thyroid medicine that you should not drink coffee for an hour. I have no idea if that is true, I never thought to ask my endocrinologist.
I too rarely eat white bread, usually just when dining out if I have a roll. I made some really delicious muffins yesterday with oat bran, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, banana, dates, and shredded carrots. It does have a half cup of yogurt in it too, could you have that baked in something? I am lactose intolerant so I used lactose-free yogurt. I made the muffins for my husband and he loves them. He will not eat yogurt so I hid that from him. It's not a problem for him, just a personal aversion.
If those are things you can eat and you would like the recipe, let me know.
JK

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@dorisena I just wanted to comment on waiting an hour after taking levothyroxine before drinking coffee. I just googled it and there are numerous articles about it:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/coffee-and-thyroid-medication-3233255
https://www.thyroid.org/patient-thyroid-information/ct-for-patients/vol-1-issue-1/vol-1-issue-1-p-21/
and the always very technical from the National Institute of Health
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18341376
The sooner you have coffee after taking the medication the more apt it is to cause not all of the medication to be absorbed so for full absorption it is best to wait an hour.
JK

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1 reply
JK | @contentandwell | May 9, 2020
In reply to @dorisena "Yes, I'll try the recipe. I need variety in my eating, and sometimes working hard that..." + (show)
@dorisena

Yes, I'll try the recipe. I need variety in my eating, and sometimes working hard that day allows me extra items. Thanks, Dprosema

Jump to this post

@dorisena @hopeful33250 Here is the recipe. I put it into my MasterCook program so it would give the nutritional information also, and then scanned the document in.
JK

Shared files

Oatmeal Bran Muffins high compression (Oatmeal-Bran-Muffins-high-compression.pdf)

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dorisena | @dorisena | May 9, 2020
In reply to @contentandwell "@dorisena I just wanted to comment on waiting an hour after taking levothyroxine before drinking coffee...." + (show)
@contentandwell

@dorisena I just wanted to comment on waiting an hour after taking levothyroxine before drinking coffee. I just googled it and there are numerous articles about it:
https://www.verywellhealth.com/coffee-and-thyroid-medication-3233255
https://www.thyroid.org/patient-thyroid-information/ct-for-patients/vol-1-issue-1/vol-1-issue-1-p-21/
and the always very technical from the National Institute of Health
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18341376
The sooner you have coffee after taking the medication the more apt it is to cause not all of the medication to be absorbed so for full absorption it is best to wait an hour.
JK

Jump to this post

I agree, JK. I don't drink coffee at all. What is difficult is staying on a strict schedule. My body varies on sleep and I can't hear the alarm clock. Besides, after all those years of sleep deprivation in my past, I don't think I should get up in the morning at a certain time. Dorisena

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1 reply
JK | @contentandwell | May 9, 2020
In reply to @dorisena "I agree, JK. I don't drink coffee at all. What is difficult is staying on a..." + (show)
@dorisena

I agree, JK. I don't drink coffee at all. What is difficult is staying on a strict schedule. My body varies on sleep and I can't hear the alarm clock. Besides, after all those years of sleep deprivation in my past, I don't think I should get up in the morning at a certain time. Dorisena

Jump to this post

@dorisena. With my hearing problem I don’t hear my alarm unless it goes for a while - it gets progressively louder. It did of course bother my husband. It would wake him and he would wake me. I got a fitness tracker watch that has an alarm function and vibrates on my wrist so I can now wake up without disturbing him. I set the alarm for about 7, get up and take my medications, and then return to bed and try to fall asleep again - I do not always succeed at that.
I really like that I don’t feel that I am disturbing my husband, and the vibration is a gentle awakening.
JK

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dorisena | @dorisena | May 9, 2020

Before this crisis, if I need to get up early for an event, I would stretch my house phone cord across my bed and put the phone close to me. Then my family would call me and make sure I was awake for the event we needed to do, such as catching a plane, or going somewhere early. I was usually so excited about going somewhere that I was awake before the phone rang. Sometimes it is fun to sleep a little later. I never could do that earlier in my life. Dorisena

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Ingegerd Enscoe, Alumni Mentor | @astaingegerdm | May 9, 2020

I might as well share my diabetes story. My blood sugar levels started to go up when I developed autoimmune disease, being on prednisone etc. I did not eat large quantities because of my GI problems. However, I liked bread. I kept physically active. I had gained a lot of weight. Inflammation will do that plus prednisone. A couple of years ago I was well from the autoimmune illness, very tired. My father had diabetes towards the end of his life- in addition to coronary artery disease.
One day- out of the blue- I decided to lose the weight to control the blood sugar. I seriously think my father sent me a message! I decided to try one of the ketosis diets. I basically cut carbohydrates and kept up with proteins. I lost 40 lbs in a year and my blood sugar and HgbA1C is close to normal. I never was really hungry either.

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